Suction ski binding

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a release binder for releasably securing ski boots to skis which utilizes vacuum coupling means in the form of a plurality of suction cups mounted on a boot carrier to secure the boot carrier to a ski. The suction cups are received in concave depressions in a plate mounted on the ski. In one embodiment the boot carrier includes a sheet of magnetic material which provides a magnetic bond in addition to the vacuum bond. A ski boot is secured to the boot carrier frame by various releasable clamps. A safety cord connected to the ski boot and to a reel mounted on the ski restrains free travel of the ski when the boot and boot carrier are released from the ski during a spill.

United States Patent Kulick 1 Feb. 29,1972

[54] SUCTION SKI BINDING [21] Appl. No.: 863,921

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,248 6/1953 Semon ..24/73.21 VA 3,318,610 5/1967 Gulick ..280/l 1.35 M 3,537,719 11/1970 Gottfried ..280/11.35 M

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Austria q/ 1 1 3 5 bi 179,790 1/1936 Switzerland ..280/1l.35M

Primary Examiner--Kenneth H. Betts Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song Att0rney-Wheeler, l-louse & Wheeler [57] ABSTRACT Disclosed herein is a release binder for releasably securing ski boots to skis which utilizes vacuum coupling means in the form of a plurality of suction cups mounted on a boot carrier to secure the boot carrier to a ski. The suction cups are received in concave depressions in a plate mounted on the ski. .In one embodiment the boot carrier includes a sheet of magnetic material which provides a magnetic bond in addition to the vacuum bond. A ski boot is secured to the boot carrier frame by various releasable clamps. A safety cord connected to the ski boot and to a reel mounted on the ski restrains free travel of the ski when the boot and boot carrier are released from the ski during a spill.

39. C s, Perm Patented Feb. 29, 1972 3,645,552

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SUCTION SKI BINDING BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Various types of release bindings have been developed to release the boot from the ski when the forces exerted on the binder approach a level close to the breaking point of a limb. It is,desirable that the release binding afforda positive release at a sufficiently low force level so that injury to the skier is minimized. It is necessary, of course, that the release binding be sufficiently secure during normal useand normal ski conditions so that release does not occur in the absence of a spill. Some of the release bindings available utilize clamps, buckles or cables which can become inoperable when coated with ice or snow and unmanageable with gloved hands.

Studies have shown that a number of injuries occur with the use of mechanical release bindings because they were not properly adjusted. Moreover, some of these bindings must be adjusted for the varying conditions encountered on different slopes, a task which is often neglected and improperly performed by the inexperienced skier.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The invention comprises a release binder for releasably securing ski boots to skis which will release the skier from the skis when the skier experiences a fall or spill and which requires no mechanical adjustments to render the binder operative to release at the required load or force levels.

A ski boot is clamped in a boot carrier which is secured-to the ski by vacuum coupling means in the form of a plurality of suction cups uniformly distributed over the entire area of the boot-sole and heel. The suction cups are anchored to the carrier and are received in a plurality of concave depressions or sockets in the ski or in a plate secured to the ski. The suction cups seat down into the concave depressions, thus to lock the cups againstlateral and fore and aft displacement of the boot relative to the ski in the absence of sufficient forces to break the vacuum between the suction cups and the depressions.

In the preferred embodiments, the suction cup socket is formed as a concave spherical section and the suction cup is made with a complementary convex spherical central head or core with ,a concave marginal skirt. When the cup is pressed intothe socket the skirt curls back on itself to reverse its shape from concave to convex and molds itself into the socket. The reversed skirt and central head assume a convex spherical shape complementary to and in intimate contact with the concave socket, thus to exclude air and insure a tight suction grip.

In one embodiment, the boot carrier comprises a lamina of a layer of magnetic material such as magnetic rubber and a plate constructed of nonmagnetic material such as Duraluminum to which the suction cups are secured. The base plate on the ski which receives the suction cups is magnetic to thus increase the degree of engagement between the base plate and the boot carrier. This embodiment is advantageous when the skis are worn for extended periods, with no appreciable load to maintain the suction cups in a deformed condition, as for instance, during travel on a ski lift.

Several mounting arrangements are provided for connecting. the toe and heel of the boot to the boot carrier. In one embodiment the boot carrier is in the form of a hinge with two elongated leaves pivotally connected at the forward portion of the boot to afford forward movement of the boot relative to the ski during ski jumping when the skier typically leans forwardly in the direction of travel to minimize air resistance.

The invention also provides a safety cord to limit free travel of the ski once, the binder has released the boot from the ski. The safety cord is stored on a spring wound reel mounted on the ski.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following disclosure.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ski embodying the release binder of the invention.

LII

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view of the ski binder and a portion of a ski boot shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary-plan view of the plate on the ski.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical cross section through the storage means for a ski safety cord in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a modified arrangement for securing the toe of the boot and a modified releasable binder;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of a further embodiment of the releasable binder.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified embodiment ofthe toe clamp.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a suction cup in accordance with the invention, prior to closing it into a plate socket.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view of a suction cup with its skirt shown in unflexed concave positions and reversely flexed convex positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structure. The scope ofthe invention is defined in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a typical ski boot 10 which includes a thick sole 12 with a toe portion 13 and a heel portion 14. In accordance with the invention a releasable suction binderIS is provided to secure the boot 10 to a baseplate 17 on a ski 16. The baseplate 17 (FIG. 2) is secured to the ski 16 in any convenient manner, such as by bolts 19.

Thereleasable suction binder 15 includes a boot carrier 20 having an elongated plate 21 and vacuum coupling means to secure the plate 21 to the ski 16. In the disclosed construction the vacuum coupling means comprises a plurality of suction cups 22 more or less uniformly distributed over the entire area of the boot sole. The cups are received in a corresponding plurality of dish-shaped concave sockets or depressions 24 formed in the baseplate 17 (FIGS. 2, 3, 4). The cups and depressions 24 can be aligned in two longitudinally extending rows 28 and 29 as shown in FIG. 4. The length of the rows and the number of depressions 24 and suction cups 22 employed can vary with the length of the boot carrier used. With a short boot carrier adapted for use with small boot sizes, for children etc., fewer suction cups are required.

To obtain maximum holding force, a suction cup 22 isprovided which has substantially its entire holding surface area in intimate air excluding contact with the complementary concave spherical surface or seat 30 of a depression 24. As shown in FIG. 10, the suction cups 22 have an outwardly flared concave flexible large diameter annular skirt or lip 34 which surrounds a smaller diameter convex central head or core 36. Convex core 36 is desirably quite rigid to provide a firm anchor for the fastener 43 and is desirably shaped in the form of a section of a sphere which is complementary to the concave spherical seat 35 of the sockets 24 formed in the plate 17. When the suction cups 22 are closed or pressed into engagement with thedepressions 24 in the plate 21, the lip 34 flexes in the direction of arrows 33 in FIG. ll 1 to curl back on itself to reverse its shape from concave to convex and form with the head 36 .a continuous convex section of a spherical surface which is complementary to the surface 30 of sockets 24. The reversed skirt constitutes a marginal continuation of the convex head 36. Accordingly, the suction'cup completely fills the socket and prevents air from being trapped between the suction cup and the socket wall. This insures that the entire surface area of the suction cup is in intimate mating contact with the plate, thus'to increase the effective area held against the plate 17 by the atmospheric pressure. While spherical sections are illustrated, this is not critical, so long as the convex and concave surfaces are complementary.

The suction cups 22 are desirably constructed of a highly resilient elastomer, such as silicon rubber, which will give good performance overa wide temperature range with little stiffening at low temperatures. In a practical embodiment of the invention, the curved surface formed upon upward deformation of the annular lip desirably has about a 3/4 inch radius. The depressions 24 are relatively deep, so that the reversely curved cups 22 seat below the level of the top of plate 17. This militates against fore and aft and lateral displacement of the boot carrier 20 relative to the ski and minimizes the tendency of the carrier plate 21 to shift and shear the suction cups 22 from the plate 21. The suction cups 22 are secured to the plate 21 by fasteners 43 which are anchored in the core 36 and project into the plate 21, as shown in FIG. 2.

In the specific embodiment of FIG. 11, the core 36 does not flex when the cup isclosed into the socket. Only the highly resilient skirt 34 flexes, as indicated by the arrows 33.

Means are provided on the boot carrier plate 21 for securing the sole 12 of the boot to the boot carrier. In the construction disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 the means are in the form of a front mounting block 44 whichis secured to plate 21, and a cleat 46 with a projecting lip 48 having an arcuate edge 50 (FIG. 1) for receiving the toe portion 13 of the sole 12. The clear 46 is pivotally connected to the block 44 at its forward edge by a hinge 51 which has one leaf 52 connected to the cleat 46 and another leaf 53 connected to the mounting block 44. Means are provided in the form of a pin 56 for releasably locking the clear 56 to the mounting block 44. The pin 56 is movable through coaxial apertures 58 and 60 respectively in the clear 56 and block 44.

In the construction disclosed in FIG. 6, the means for securing the toe portion 13 of the sole 12 to the boot carrier plate 21 is in the form of a cleat 62 connected to the sole 12, as by screws 63. The cleat 62 has an aperture 64 adapted to receive a pin or bolt 66 which is threadably received in a mounting block 68 anchored to the boot carrier plate 21 by bolts 70.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, such means is in the form of a pin 72 which is parallel to the ski and slideably movable through a bore 74 in a mounting block 76. The pin is spring biased into engagement with the clear 62 by a spring 78 arranged around the pin 72 and located in a counterbore 75. The pin 72 can be provided with an eye 80 to facilitate manipulation thereof. A safety chain 82 may connect between the eye 80 and the mounting block 76.

Referring to FIG. 8, the mounting block 76 and clear 62 can be provided with arcuate faces 84 and 86 to facilitate removal of the boot from the carrier mounting plate by lateral displacement.

The heel portion of the sole 12 can be secured to the boot carrier plate 21 by a fixed rear cleat 87 (FIGS. 1, 2, 8). Another embodiment of the release binder of the invention is disclosed in FIG. 6 wherein the boot carrier plate 21 also carries a layer of magnetic rubber 88 bonded to a plate 90 of a nonferrous metal such as Duraluminum to form a lamina. The plate 17 is constructed of a ferrous or ferromagnetic material. The magnetic flux from the layer of magnetic rubber 88 will afford increased, engagement of the boot carrier to the baseplate 17. This binder is desirable when the skis are being worn for extended periods with no appreciable load on thesuction cups, as for instance, when a skier is being transported on a ski lift, since the engagement provided by the suction cups decreases upon passage of time as air bleeds under the lip and decreases the vacuum.

Another embodiment of the release binder is disclosed in FIG. 7. This embodiment is particularly adapted for ski jumping to permit the skier to raise his heels from the skis and lean forwardly into the wind to minimize air resistance. In this embodiment forward pivotal movement of the boot 10 relative to the ski 16 is provided by upper and lower leaves 92 and 94 which are pivotally connected on hinge 96. The suction cups 22 are anchored to leaf 94. The toe portion of the sole 12 is secured to the upper lead 92 by a clear 98. The heel portion 14 is connected to the leaf 92 by a cleat and a lock 99.

The lock 99 is desirably in the form of a mounting block 102 fastened to.leaf 92 and a threaded pin or bolt 104 which is threadably received in the mounting block 102 and which projects into an aperture 106 in the cleat 100 and sole 12. The bolt 104 can be provided with a knurled head 108 to facilitate manual manipulation. In use, the skier can lean forwardly and the leaf 92 will pivot about hinge 96 to raise from the ski as shown in broken lines (FIG. 7

To restrain free movement of the released skis and minimize injuries caused by free skis when the binders release during a spill, the invention provides a safety cord 110 (FIGS. 1, 5) which can be connected at one end either to the boot at-112 or to the boot carrier at 114. The other end of the cord 110 is connected to a reel 116 which is rotatably supported in a housing 118 which is connected to theski by a fastener 120. The reel 116 can be spring wound by a spring 122 or, in the alternative, the reel can be provided with a hand crank and friction brake to keep the cord 110 wound on the reel. About 12 feet of cord is desirably provided.

The release binders of the invention do not require mechanical adjustments from time to time as do conventional release binders, thus the binders are easily used by beginners. The degree of engagement between the boot carrier and the ski can be controlled by varying the number of suction cups employed and the size and configuration of the suction cups. While the disclosed embodiments show the suction cups 22 on the carrier plate 21 and the sockets 24 in the base plate 17, the reverse arrangement may also be used.

I claim:

1. A release binder for releasably coupling a ski boot to a ski comprising a ski boot carrier plate beneath the ski boot, a carrier base plate on the ski, a plurality of suction cups distributed over the area of the ski boot sole, said cups being secured to one of said plates, and a plurality of concave depressions on the other of said plates to receive said suction cups, said depressions and suction cups having complementary curved air excluding surfaces which mate when the cups are closed into said depressions, and said suction cups having a convex central head and a surrounding concave resilient skirt which will reverse its shape to a convex marginal continuation of the convex central head.

2. The release binder of claim 1 in which said suction cups are received below the level of the top of the plate in which the depressions are formed when received therein.

3. The release binder of claim 1 including a safety line and line storage means adapted to be secured to said ski, one end of said line adapted to be secured to said boot carrier, the other end connected to said line storage means, whereby upon release of said boot carrier from said ski said line will limit free movement of said ski.

4. The release binder of claim 3 wherein said line storage means comprises a reel and means for rotatably mounting said reel on said ski.

5. The release binder of claim 1 including means at the forward end of said boot carrier adapted to releasably secure the toe of a ski boot to said boot carrier, and means at the rear of said boot carrier adapted to releasably secure the heel of a ski boot to said boot carrier.

6. The release binder of claim 5 wherein said means at the forward end of said boot carrier for securing the toe of a ski boot to said boot carrier comprises a cleat adapted to be secured to the sole of a ski boot, a mounting block on said boot carrier, and means projecting from said mounting block for releasably securing said mounting block to said cleat.

7. The release binder of claim 5 wherein said means at the forward end of said boot carrier adapted to releasably secure the toe of a ski boot to said boot carrier comprises a mounting block secured to said boot carrier, a cleat pivotally connected extend above the sole of a ski boot to clamp said sole to said carrier, and means for releasably locking said cleat to said mounting block to prevent pivotal movement.

8. The release binder of claim 7 wherein said means for releasably locking said cleat to said mounting block comprises coaxially aligned apertures in said cleat and said mounting block and a pin extending through said apertures.

9. The release binder of claim 1 wherein said depressions have a surface area larger than said suction cups so that the margins of the cups are below the upper edge of said depres- 81011.

10. In a ski binder having a carrier plate and a baseplate, a

suction cup for releasably securing the carrier plate to the baseplate, said suction cup comprising a core, a fastener embedded in said core and adapted to secure said suction cup to said carrier plate, an outwardly flared deformable annular lip projecting from said core, the end of said core having an arcuate surface, and wherein upon defonnation of said annular lip when inserted into said depressions on said plate said annular lip will form a continuous arcuate surface in the form of a segment of a sphere with a radius equal to the radius of the curvature of the end of said core.

1K IR 

1. A release binder for releasably coupling a ski boot to a ski comprising a ski boot carrier plate beneath the ski boot, a carrier base plate on the ski, a plurality of suction cups distributed over the area of the ski boot sole, said cups being secured to one of said plates, and a plurality of concave depressions on the other of said plates to receive said suction cups, said depressions and suction cups having complementary curved air excluding surfaces which mate when the cups are closed into said depressions, and said suction cups having a convex central head and a surrounding concave resilient skirt which will reverse its shape to a coNvex marginal continuation of the convex central head.
 2. The release binder of claim 1 in which said suction cups are received below the level of the top of the plate in which the depressions are formed when received therein.
 3. The release binder of claim 1 including a safety line and line storage means adapted to be secured to said ski, one end of said line adapted to be secured to said boot carrier, the other end connected to said line storage means, whereby upon release of said boot carrier from said ski said line will limit free movement of said ski.
 4. The release binder of claim 3 wherein said line storage means comprises a reel and means for rotatably mounting said reel on said ski.
 5. The release binder of claim 1 including means at the forward end of said boot carrier adapted to releasably secure the toe of a ski boot to said boot carrier, and means at the rear of said boot carrier adapted to releasably secure the heel of a ski boot to said boot carrier.
 6. The release binder of claim 5 wherein said means at the forward end of said boot carrier for securing the toe of a ski boot to said boot carrier comprises a cleat adapted to be secured to the sole of a ski boot, a mounting block on said boot carrier, and means projecting from said mounting block for releasably securing said mounting block to said cleat.
 7. The release binder of claim 5 wherein said means at the forward end of said boot carrier adapted to releasably secure the toe of a ski boot to said boot carrier comprises a mounting block secured to said boot carrier, a cleat pivotally connected to said mounting block, said cleat having a portion adapted to extend above the sole of a ski boot to clamp said sole to said carrier, and means for releasably locking said cleat to said mounting block to prevent pivotal movement.
 8. The release binder of claim 7 wherein said means for releasably locking said cleat to said mounting block comprises coaxially aligned apertures in said cleat and said mounting block and a pin extending through said apertures.
 9. The release binder of claim 1 wherein said depressions have a surface area larger than said suction cups so that the margins of the cups are below the upper edge of said depression.
 10. In a ski binder having a carrier plate and a baseplate, a suction cup for releasably securing the carrier plate to the baseplate, said suction cup comprising a core, a fastener embedded in said core and adapted to secure said suction cup to said carrier plate, an outwardly flared deformable annular lip projecting from said core, the end of said core having an arcuate surface, and wherein upon deformation of said annular lip when inserted into said depressions on said plate said annular lip will form a continuous arcuate surface in the form of a segment of a sphere with a radius equal to the radius of the curvature of the end of said core. 